Leeds Grand Theatre – until Saturday 3 November 2018
Reviewed By Dawn Smallwood
4****
Rain Man is the first ever production under the new Classic Screen to Stage Theatre Company, formerly Bill Kenwright Ltd, and is currently on a national tour. This stage adaptation is based on 1988 multi award winning film starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.
Written for the stage by Dan Gordon, Rain Man tells the story of Charlie (Ed Speleers), a selfish and arrogant car dealer, who learns of his estranged father’s death. He and his girlfriend, Susan (Elizabeth Carter), set out to settle the estate in Ohio but only to learn that the multi-million dollar estate inheritance is left to an older brother, Raymond (Mathew Horne), whom he only just discovered. He is determined to get his half of the fortune from acquainting with Raymond who’s autistic and also ingenious with numbers and has an incredible photographic memory.
Both Charlie (Speleers) and Raymond (Horne) go on a journey of discovery across America and learn more about each other. Rain Man was written at a time, 30 years, when there wasn’t much awareness about autism and the autistic spectrum. The play certainly documents the ignorance and misunderstanding around autism then and how professionals can misinterpret, though well meaning, the needs of those people particularly fulfilling their individual unique needs, abilities, and strengths. There are human touches on their travels as to how both the relationships have changed two brothers for the better and the strengthening of a bond. Charlie gradually appreciates Raymond’s ingenuity and learnt that his brother was the imaginary “Rain Man”, a comforting figure during his troubled family life. It concludes that money it seems is no longer the motivating factor for Charlie but instead family.
The cast delivers a strong performance and the stand out performance must be from Mathew Horne who portrays Raymond perfectly – a very moving performance which allows one to get an insight into a life of someone who has autism. Horne superbly demonstrates the ingenious qualities which is associated with the condition. Morgan Large’s staging is simplistic but the spacing is used very well and compliments with the 1980’s theme.
The stage adaptation of Rain Man is done well and this is what the company will confidently continue doing following the footsteps of Bill Kenwright productions after their successful productions of films onto stage. Rain Man will continue touring around towns and cities across the country; it will no doubt be well received which is evident with the well-received applauses and standing ovations after this performance. The film at the time marked a crucial awareness about autism and as Kim Peek, who inspired Barry Morrow to write Rain Man in the first place, described that “You don’t have to be handicapped to be different. Everyone is different.” Today there is a lot more awareness and gradual shift in attitudes that everyday fulfilling lives can be lead by those who are autistic or who are on the autistic spectrum.